James
Arthur Washington, better known as Jimmy Arthur, died this
morning at age 80. Jimmy was a legendary trainer who developed
many fine boxers out of his home base turf of the Passyunk
Gym.

We
received this sad news this morning by way of phone call
from venerable Philly cut man Joey Eye, who runs the Joey
Eye Boxing Gym at 15th & Washington in South Phila-delphia,
where Arthur's son Jimmy Washington, a former fighter,
works as a trainer.

Of all
the fighters that Jimmy Arthur worked with in his long
career, he was probably best known for molding and steering
the late great Tyrone Everett. Arthur started Everett in the
sport and guided him through-out his memorable career.

But
Everett was not his only charge. "Jimmy trained just about
all the good fighters that came out of the Passyunk Gym back
in those days," said Hall of Fame promoter J Russell Peltz.

Just
a quick inventory of some of those names reads like a who's
who of South Philly boxing. Fighters like his son, James
Washington, Alfonso Hayman, Roger Russell, Frankie Mitchell,
Kevin Howard, Tony Suero, Moses Robinson, Mike Rossman, Mike
Rafferty and Tyrone's brother
Eddie Everett come immediately to mind.

Most
recently Arthur trained lightweight Victor Vasquez of North
Philly at Mike Rafferty's Gym at 28th & Dickenson. However, when Arthur suffered a stroke about two
years ago, he was forced into retirement. "I loved that old
man, and learned so much from him", Vasquez said.

Arthur
was born on July 30, 1930 in Kinston, North Carolina. He
relocated later to Philadelphia, where he met Barbara
Thorne. They married and eventually had seven children. He
began a boxing career in the 1950s as a fighter, but traded
in his gloves to become one of the city's most respected
trainers. He also worked as a butcher for twenty years.
During this time, he took in his nephew Roger Russell who
found himself in need of family after his mother and sister
were killed back in North Carolina. Arthur raised Russell as
a son and introduced him to the sport of boxing. Roger went
on to become a national amateur champion and a respected
professional.

Arthur
had important impact on the lives of the many young fighters
he worked with. In addition to the numerous boxers he
encountered that had the qualities needed to become well known
professionals, there were countless anonymous young men who
never made it in the ring. However, Arthur schooled both
with equal effort, giving them not only lessons in boxing
but important life lessons as well. He took his role in
their lives seriously, and although he was not the
most well known of the many great Philly trainers, he was
certainly one of the very best.

Arthur
was residing in a nursing home located in Dresher, PA at the
time of his death.
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Funeral
Services for Jimmy Arthur will be held on Thursday, August
12, 2010 at the Second Nazareth Missionary Baptist Church
located at 1800 S. 18th St. (18th & Tasker Sts.) in South
Philly. The viewing begins at 10:00 AM, followed by the
service at 11:00 AM.